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How to Know When to Bug Out
Are You Ready for SHTF?
A year or so ago, I became interested in preparing for a disaster, so I went to the Internet to see what other folks are doing to prepare. I was surprised to learn the number of people who have been preparing for quite some time, and also at the level of their preparations; purchasing remote properties, building up a personal arsenal, and buying and storing food stocks for their families.
I figured I needed to ‘get on board’ and start my own preparations. I had a lot to do and a lot to consider; food stocks, weapons and ammunition, off-the-grid living,communications, tools, skills, bug out bag, get home bag, maps, cash, precious metals, and much more. Whew!
I am a planning-type person, and I don’t usually do anything without careful consideration and a solid plan. I like to think through what I will do, what I might need in the way of tools, parts, etc., and what my desired results are before I begin a project. Like all my projects, whether they be a family vacation, changing the brakes on my car, or preparing for a disaster, I feel a need to plan.
I decided to work on my preparedness tasks in parallel. As I was building up my food stocks, I also built up my weapons and ammo stock, and continued to read and learn about preparedness and survival. When I began to tackle a bug out plan, I found the task quite difficult as I thought through the three elements of how I tackle projects:
- What is the task or tasks involved?
- What items and tools will I need?
- What are my desired results?
Right away, I knew the answer to question three. In a bug out situation, I desired to stay alive and have the best quality of life possible for the situation. Answering questions one and two were not so easy. The planning gene in my head caused me to think about what actually is involved with pre and post “bugging out” in order to answer the first two questions. As I thought about making my plan, a sound solution to bugging out became quite murky.
There are many websites, blogs, and videos available via the Internet that provide information, ideas, and examples of bug out situations, bug out equipment, and bug out strategies, and I eagerly studied as much as a I could. I initially thought bugging out was a mighty fine idea when the SHTF. After careful consideration, though, I have concluded that bugging out should be my last resort, my “plan Z”, and only after I’ve tried every possible way to avoid it. I offer these bug out cons for your consideration:
The Plan
Everyone should have a plan and equipment for bugging out for those extreme situations when your back is to the wall, or marauding gangs are torching every house on your street. If you must bug out, have a pre-planned destination, and you must get there before your supplies run out. Essential to your bug out plan is to clearly define the condition(s) that would trigger your “got to bug out” alarm.
Remember, though, you’ll be quitting your job, abandoning your house, and your bills will pile up in your overflowing mailbox and remain unpaid. When a crisis occurs, you will not have time to make a successful bug out plan, so you must make your plan now. Anyone can make a plan, but it takes careful thought and consideration to make a successful plan.
Quality Of Life
The notion of bugging out is quite simple; grab your stuff and go. However, after bugging out and arriving “somewhere”, then what? What will you do and what will be your quality of life? When you are at home, all your equipment, food stocks, weapons, and gear are basically within easy reach.
If you have prepared and planned well, you can stay indoors for quite some time and enjoy a high quality of life. You can continue to sleep in your bed, have a bathroom down the hall, and even keep up with current events and what’s happening in your neighborhood.
The act of bugging out brings on its own set of potentially dangerous problems that you will have to deal with and suffer through “on the fly.” In all of my Internet travels, I have yet to see a bug out bag that was stocked and equipped as well my home. Bug out bags usually provide basic survival-type equipment and rations for up to 7 days.
The prospect that my situation would become that much more precarious after my rations ran out is none too appealing. Can I really depend upon hunting, fishing, and berry scavenging?
Land Mines
You are much safer in your own home in most situations. With adequate planning and supplies, you can hunker down and survive through chemical and even biological gas clouds. You can still call the police who might be able to assist you. You and your neighbors might band together to improve your collective security. Think long and hard before you engage in bugging out.
On your way to your pre-determined bug out destination, you need to avoid being ambushed, injured, robbed, or worse. You will not know who is friend or foe, and you must remain as inconspicuous and “normal” as possible.
I think it is unwise to assume you can and will homestead in the forest, hunting and fishing like Daniel Boone until “someone” gives an “all clear” and you can return home. You will not be the only person in the forest, and any food that is available will quickly be hunted or scared away. Your forest will soon be overrun with survivalist who claim hunting territories, and battles will ensue. Gangs will form and if you’re a loner, you will not survive.
Under such conditions, it would be nearly impossible for you to rest or sleep. You’d have to be on your guard 24/7. You couldn’t leave your camp to hunt or fish for fear of coming back to nothing, or a pack of squatters who have taken over your camp and everything you depend upon.
If you knew or sensed that others were in your forest, having a camp fire would be a bad idea because it would give away your location. How would you stay warm, or cook your kill? What if someone off in the distance sees smoke and calls 911 to report a forest fire? What about the winter cold or the summer mosquitos?
What would you do? Remember, you took only your bug out bag which did not have a sleeping bag or multi-season clothing. Sure, you have your big bowie-knife, your .22 rifle, and your length of para cord, but what about those other hundred items you need now that are back home?
Remote Hideaway
If you are one of the fortunate individuals who has some land in a remote location that you have already set up to be your bugged out location, great! The difficult task for you is to know when to bug out and before the crisis or disaster occurs. Timing will be critical. Bugging out after the crisis only increases your chances that you’ll be stuck in gridlock traffic, apprehended, robbed, or again, even worse.
Predicting when and where a disaster or crisis will occur is anyone’s guess. If you guess wrong, then you would have bugged out for nothing, and increased your chances of coming home to a looted and ransacked house.
Abort! Abort!
If you decide to return home, your immediate task would be to navigate your way through or around newly formed gangs and other non-friendlies you might encounter. If you bugged out with your get home bag, it is safe to say that any food you had in your get home bag would have already been eaten a long time ago.
You might arrive home only to find that your house has been looted, and all the food, gear, weapons, and supplies you didn’t take with you when you bugged out are gone. Your windows are broken, your electronics have disappeared, and you quickly discover thieves stole all the copper wires and pipes in your house, along with your refrigerator.
We all know that thieves are not a considerate lot. Since they took your copper pipes and left the water turned on, your house is now flooded, and your water bill is over $1,000. To add insult to injury, every thread of clothing, shoes, tools, and anything of any value that you had is now gone. Was it bugging out or going home that was the wrong decision?
Conclusion
I am unable to convince myself that I, after being so dependent upon grocery stores, utilities on demand, and sound shelter for decades, could just set up camp in the forest for an unknown length of time with only a bug out bag. You know, I am not the MacGyver type.
What do you think? Is “bugging out” a better plan than “bugging in”?
Courtesy of The Survivalist Blog.
I recently went on a day hike in the desert and brought my 
Enter the Osprey Talon 11. If you’re looking for a day hike pack, an everyday carry bag, or an innocuous pack for a grab-and-go bag, this is a good contender. It’s lightweight, comes in two sizes, has enough capacity to carry your essentials, and has a great suspension system. It will carry whatever you put in it comfortably. It has good back ventilation, a sternum strap, and a hip belt. Let’s take a closer look!
The S/M has 9 liters of storage and the M/L has 11 liters. It’s on the small side for a day pack. If it were any smaller, I’d want a bigger one. The 
The 
The sternum strap has a built-in whistle that works surprisingly well. This is a great addition that shows how much thought was put into the Talon. If you’re lost, you can blow the whistle instead of yelling (it’s louder and saves energy). The hip belt is one of my favorite features of this pack; they are made of breathable material and have a generously sized pocket on each side. They can be a little difficult to get into when you’re wearing the pack, but it’s far from impossible to access. These hip belt pockets are perfect for holding a compass, Chapstick, and 
The shoulder straps are comfortable and have lots of adjustment. There are two usable elastic loops on each strap, perfect for hydration tube routing. On the left strap, there is a long skinny elastic pouch sized just right for a pocket knife or a 
Specs:
Ventilated back
I’ve been in the prepping business long enough to see the ebbs and flows of the market. I was on the early side of it, when “prepper” was still associated with the fringe “survivalist” folks – loners in the woods sitting on stockpiles of guns and ammo. Since then, “prepper” has become a household term with prepping becoming far more mainstream than it has ever been to the point freeze dried food can be purchased in everyday places like Costco. Reasonable people are preppers. In fact, once you look at the many reasons to prepare, “reason” follows that you must prep!
As preppers, we should already be aware of the necessary basics for prepping. If you’re new to prepping, you can start by reading 
The same as prepping for a recession requires different methods than prepping for civil unrest, prepping for climate change will require different methods as well. While climate change will require preparing for more hurricanes in certain areas, there are longer-term issues that will need to be addressed. Here are a few:
Preserving Food 
Whether you believe climate change is happening or not, whether you think it’s man-made or not, climate change preppers should be welcomed into the prepping community. Even if they don’t align with the typical prepper’s political beliefs, the more people that are prepared the better – regardless of their reasons!
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A QUALITY SURVIVAL FOOD KIT (plus things to avoid)
WHY A SURVIVAL FOOD KITS MAY END UP BEING THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU EVER MAKE
Looking for the best crossbow? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CROSSBOWS YOU CAN CHOOSE
A recurve crossbow is the most uncomplicated design.
The main difference between a compound crossbow and a recurve crossbow is noticeable at first sight.
Reverse draw crossbows are primarily compound designs with the bow mechanism reversed.
I grew up with 
Here’s another fine recurve design from Excalibur. 
At this higher price range, all the bows will tick the boxes for speed, quality, and reliability.
Yes, 
Wikipedia has the following to say about a concept called “
The Windham Weaponry R16FTT-9MM is a stellar piece of gear – well thought out but not over-designed to the point of lunacy. The whole package is approximately the same size as your standard 
When you break the receivers apart, however, you start noticing the changes that make this Windham Weaponry rifle unique. First off, the ejector is fixed into the lower receiver via two beefy allen screws, and juts upwards from just behind the magazine well – much different (and far simpler) than the plunger ejector that lives inside standard AR-15 bolts. 
The real crowd-pleasing aspect of the Windham Weaponry 9mm carbine is its ability to source its high-velocity meals from 9mm Glock magazines. That’s right, proud 
Since the carbine landed in my lap, I’ve been buying up a decidedly inconsistent mixture of polymer mags; 15-round Glock 19 and 17-round Glock 17 magazines, 33-round Glock “Giggle Sticks”, along with a complement of 15, 17, and 21-round Magpul GL-9 magazines. Every single one of them locks into the magwell securely and feeds the little 9mm rounds like greased snot through the blowback action of the Windham Weaponry 9mm Carbine.
Since pistol caliber carbines are immensely popular no doubt due in part for their ability to be effectively suppressed, Windham Weaponry provided the 9mm Carbine without a muzzle device – just a knurled thread protector at the danger end of the barrel. Unscrew the thread protector to expose the muzzle device threads. Windham Weaponry’s page for this particular model says these threads are ½” x 28 threads per inch – however I did note a company newsletter that stated all 9mm models are produced with ½” x 36 thread pitch. The moral of this story: if you’re looking to install a suppressor on your Windham Weaponry 9mm, be sure to double check the thread pitch. 
Windham Weaponry kits out the 9mm Carbine with a complement of standard AR accoutrements that are perfectly functional, but I personally feel a touch dated in this ergonomically enhanced and developed firearms worldview. The standard provided collapsible buttstock is a mildly-enhanced throwback to Colt’s Vietnam-induced CAR-15/XM177 design of the 1960s, and the A2 style pistol grip is unchanged since the introduction of the M16A2 variant from the early 1980s. The black nylon sling is really just a strap with zero quick adjustability when installed between the provided QD rail mount and the telescoping buttstock.
Heads up though: when I yanked the original buttstock off the 9mm carbine to find that the stock receiver is of the Commercial variety, not the Mil-Spec configuration. I checked with Windham Weaponry, and they confirmed that most of their rifles go out the door with Commercial extensions, since the .03” narrower diameter allows the use of both Commercial and Mil-Spec stocks. Just be forewarned – it may be easier to find additional colors and configurations in the Mil-Spec sizes (as the industry as mostly standardized the use of Mil-Spec components), but they will rattle and wiggle just a tiny bit when used on Commercial tubes. Fully functional, just a bit annoying, if that sort of thing bothers you. Just an FYI.
Ahh, here’s the question I’m sure most of you are dying to know the answer to. As soon as this little beast was in my sweaty palms, I grabbed a couple boxes of ammo and headed to the sandpit to get the 9mm Carbine dialed in and ready for some real-world testing. A 
Both rifles performed flawlessly, with either carbine proving to be ridiculously accurate and perfectly capable of providing easy hits under all circumstances and shooting positions. At the 75 yard mark and beyond, I did find that the 9mm definitely didn’t have the outright practical accuracy and flat trajectory that the 5.56 afforded, but hits inside the “kill” box were simple at all ranges to 100 yards with the 9mm. A “running man” drill with 90 9mm rounds at all distances from powder-burn range to 100 yards, and launching bullets from a variety of positions including prone, offhand, weak-side transition, and from behind cover with the rifle laying sideways and the buttstock mounted over the shoulder turned up a perfect score with no rounds striking outside the scoring boxes. I used a mix of Winchester “White Box” 124-grain FMJ rounds and 124-grain FMJ handloads throughout the course with no failures to function. Recoil was positively negligible and the rifle was a breeze to fire quickly and accurately. 
The pistol caliber carbine efficacy debate is a subject for a future article (one I’m looking forward to indeed); we’re going to assume that your plans dictate that the 9mm caliber is what you want, and you’re looking to take advantage of the Windham Weaponry R16FTT-9MM’s ability to utilize 
I’ve written before about 
